Charlie

Earlier this year, I finally finished an implant process for three missing or decayed teeth in the upper right quadrant of my mouth. The whole thing took three years to complete, because the initial bone grafts didn't work, and they had to be repeated a couple of times. The first implant also failed because of an opening between the sinus and the bone. I finally got two teeth implanted firmly, and the periodontist said she was reluctant to trust the bone for the third, so the last tooth is somewhat oversized to correct the bite. The whole thing was pretty expensive, but my insurance covered more than I had expected (partly because we were able to spread the claims over three years to get by the annual limits). I was not a happy camper while it was all going on, because it was often pretty uncomfortable, and I worried about what to do if it never worked out. However, I have now had the implants in working condition for nine months, and I don't think about them because they feel so natural. I do have to consciously remember to chew on both sides of my mouth after such a long time chewing on only one side. Ultimately, I think it was worth the unpleasantness and expense, but at my age, I don't think I would go through it again.

This reminds me of when I went to work in a small city in Eastern Europe shortly after the Iron Curtain collapsed. There was no facility for using credit cards or even personal checks. Everyone was paid in cash--including me--and people bought even big ticket items like cars by saving their cash under the mattress. Everyone, even bankers, kept asking me how credit cards worked in the west, because it was such a novel concept for them.

I have friends who often go to Mexico for dental work, because it is so much cheaper than in the US, and I occasionally go along with them just for the ride. Last month we went to new dentist in Mexicali, who did routine cleaning for a very reasonable price, but the dentist told them that they needed to come back to get some other things done, and the total price for the them would be $576. I stayed in the waiting room while the cleaning was being done, and I overheard the receptionist dealing with another American customer, who had finished and was paying his bill. His bill was for... $576! How remarkable! My own dentist here in Palm Springs is more expensive, but he has never tried to upsell his services. The periodontist I went to for implants charged a set fee (fairly high) for the entire process of bone grafts and implants, and despite the fact that it took much longer than expected and required several more bone grafts than originally planned, she never charged anything more.

I din't usually like tats, but I find the pine tree on his arm interesting (and suggestive?).

I went to an all-male liberal arts college (yes, there used to be such things), and women weren't allowed in the dorms at all, except during certain daylight hours during special campus events. Of course, that doesn't mean they never managed to sneak in, but it was a pretty rare occurrence. Breaches of the rule were more common in the off-campus fraternity houses.

I went out to buy a new pair of jeans yesterday, and even the ones I tried on that were described as "relaxed fit" were so tight I had trouble bending my legs. (Of course, I am no longer quite so limber as the young men in these photos.)

Those are boys?!

If I make a mistake and buy a pair of shoes which I find I don't wear, I give them to Revivals, the AIDS thrift store here in PS, where I also sometimes buy casual clothes.

BJs only (I think--it was a long time ago).

When I was a suburban teenager, I had no place to hook up, and neither did some of my tricks, so I had a lot of sex in cars.

In a SRO on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Eight pair of shoes, plus assorted slippers, mocassins. sandals and flipflops. But I wear the same two pair of athletic shoes 90% of the time, and replace them with similar models when they wear out. (One of the wealthiest and best known men in Palm Springs wears the same model white tennis shoes no matter how he is dressed, even in a tux.)

Then please answer my question about your comment.

I don't understand where you (QTR and William) are getting the idea that I approve of either Levine's behavior or the Met's behavior. I said in one of my first posts that I thought the Met's hypocrisy about what they have done for years is appalling. They could at least admit and explain their history of protecting Levine from the consequences of his behavior, even though most people would not approve of their reasons. For the record, I understand their reasoning, but I do not condone it. I also said that in the long run, his sexual predations will not matter as much to his reputation as the artistic accomplishments--you are free not to like that fact about human nature, but it is there. And William, I don't know if you know that hagiography is a biography of a saint that presents him/her as a paragon of virtue, but please show me where I have said that I view Levine in that light.

OK, I was an easy lay for anyone who had a safe place to do the deed, which usually meant older men.

I give regularly to the FIND (Food In Need of Distribution) Food Bank in Palm Springs, and to the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, which does a better job of providing food and shelter to the needy than local gov't organizations do.

I never argued that serious accusations were not willfully ignored or fended off with money--in fact, my initial posts in this thread made exactly that point about the Met's behavior.

Tough crowd here. Most people are remembered as human beings who were morally flawed in some way. That may temper their reputation--and should: I don't believe in hagiography--but whether the flaw should be considered more important than the accomplishment is always a matter of opinion. I know that MLK, Jr., plagiarized his doctoral dissertation (in theology, of all things) and cheated on his wife, but that is not what I remember him for.

Worst manual shift story: on our 1972 Renault 12, the entire floor stick came off in my spouse's hand as he started to downshift at a light.

It depends on the bed.

"That other thing" was a REALLY BIG thing, not to mention a unique event in American political history, that will always overshadow anything else he did as President. Nevertheless, with the passage of time, the opening to China has loomed more and more important in many serious appraisals of Nixon.

I am well aware that my own reactions at 17 were my own, and not necessarily typical, but I suspect that some of the teenage boys whom Levine approached were not sensitive flowers who took monetary compensation from Levine and/or the Met because they felt emotionally violated.

His ultimate reputation will depend not on his personal life but on the enormous body of work, all of which is available because of modern technology. People will watch and listen to performances over and over; they will not read the recent newspaper articles about his sexual activities over and over. He is personally tainted, just as von Karayan and Flagstad were personally tainted by their Nazi connections during WWII, but that is not what they or he will be remembered for.

When I drive in England or Australia, I find it harder to stay on the correct side of the road when I am driving an automatic. Somehow, shifting gears with my left hand helps me stay properly oriented.

I learned how to drive on my father's 1952 Pontiac, with HydraMatic. However, my college graduation present was a 1961 VW bug, and in those days no VWs had automatics, so I had to learn how to shift gears. In the early 1970s I had Renaults, which also had only floor shifts. Since 1975 I have owned only automatics, but I can still drive a stick, though I have done so only when renting cars in Europe.